1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to musical training devices and more particularly, to a novel training aid for musical instruments incorporating groups of visual indicators corresponding to selected musical chords identifying finger placement locations on the sound elements of the instrument.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the past, it has been the conventional practice for a student learning to play a stringed instrument, such as a guitar for example, to visually place his fingers at precise fret and string locations on the instrument corresponding to a printed chord diagram displayed in an instruction book or sheet music. The diagram generally includes a finger location pattern of two, three or four fingers intended to be duplicated on the instrument by depressing particular strings so as to musically shorten or lengthen the strings.
Actual practice of this teaching or learning method is awkward and cumbersome due to the fact that the student first looks at the diagram in the instruction book and then turns his head to look at the fret board. This tendency also causes the student to twist or turn the instrument to an unnatural position so he can see the fret board and the appropriate location of the finger pattern. Such a procedure produces undesirable habits which require further training.
Furthermore, this conventional procedure requires the student to carry the finger location pattern in his mind while his eye leaves the instruction book or music sheet and focuses on the fret board and his finger placement. Usually, several glances back and forth are performed before the student has achieved the correct finger pattern.
Another common procedure resides in the practice of grasping the fingers of the student with those of the instructors or teacher's fingers and manually placing the student's fingers on the proper strings. This procedure is time consuming and awkward.
Some attempts have been made to employ self-help teaching aids such as perforated masks and specially contoured forms. Difficulties have been encountered which stem largely from the fact that the masks or forms slip from place and distract or erroneously indicate a finger pattern. Also, changes in the pattern cannot be made rapidly or with precision.
Therefore, a long standing need exists to provide a novel teaching aid which will indicate to the student proper finger placement without distortion of the instrument or his body and which can be rapidly changed from one finger pattern to another with precision.